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City Lights: Penn State alumni and faculty stars come to you

The 2016 City Lights tour features events in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Hershey, Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., allowing participants to experience a taste of Penn State in the city! The entire 2016 City Lights schedule is now available on the Alumni Association's website, and space is limited. Registration information will be available online later this month, with Alumni Association members paying a discounted fee.

Image: Penn State Alumni Association

City Lights: Penn State alumni and faculty stars come to you

Christine Kilbride

January 18, 2016

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in AlumnInsider, the Penn State Alumni Association's monthly member e-newsletter. You can click here for information on becoming a member, and you can follow the Alumni Association on Facebook and Twitter for more stories and updates on events.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Calling all urban-dwelling Nittany Lions: Have you heard about the 2016 City Lights tour? With events in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Hershey, Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., you won’t want to miss a chance to experience a taste of Penn State in the city!

The entire 2016 City Lights schedule is now available on the Alumni Association’s website, and space is limited. Registration information will be available online later this month, with Alumni Association members paying a discounted fee.

Now, onto the tour.

First stop, Philadelphia. On Feb. 25, Penn Staters from the City of Brotherly Love can learn more about the “Art and Science of Neurotrauma.” The Franklin Institute, founded in 1824 in honor of “America’s first scientist,” Benjamin Franklin, is the most visited museum in Pennsylvania.

Did someone say cheers? The tour will carry on to western Pennsylvania on March 31 for a presentation entitled, “From the Hearts to Your Glass: The Sight, Sounds and Taste of Whiskey” at Wigle Whiskey in Pittsburgh. Wigle is considered the birthplace of American whiskey.

From American whiskey to American government, City Lights will move to Washington, D.C., on April 21. Nichola Gutgold, professor of communication arts and sciences and a 1999 Penn State alumna, will present “Madam President on the Road to the White House.”

The month of May brings us to Hershey, Pennsylvania, for a lesson in locomotion. Sean Brennan, an associate professor in the College of Engineering, will detail “The Dreams (and Nightmares) of Autonomous Vehicles” at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum. This is an event for car lovers and history buffs alike.

The tour travels to the Big Apple on June 9 for a conversation with Farnoosh Torabi about personal finance. Torabi, a 2002 Penn State graduate, is a personal finance expert, best-selling author and television personality. She hosts the daily podcast “So Money” and recently wrote a book titled “When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women.”

The final stop on the City Lights tour will circle back to Philadelphia, with a taste of the Land Down Under on June 25. This family friendly event is about kangaroos, specifically “The Value of Training and Enrichment for Animal Care in the Zoo Field.” It should be a hopping time!

For more information on City Lights and other Alumni Association events, visit our website.